m."

Philip turned into the field, and rode to the head of the party.
The prince, who was looking round, at once reined in his horse and
took his place beside him.

"Now, Monsieur Philip, you must tell me all about it. I am tired of
hearing consultations about roads and Catholic forces. I want to
hear a full account of your adventures, just as you told me the
tale of your journey to Nerac."

During the course of the day, several parties of gentlemen joined
the little force. So well organized were the Huguenots that, during
the last two or three days, the news had passed from mouth to mouth
throughout the province for all to assemble, if possible, at points
indicated to them; and all knew the day on which the seneschal
would march north from Villeneuve. Yet so well was the secret kept,
that the Catholics remained in total ignorance of the movement.
Consequently, at every village there were accessions of force
awaiting the seneschal, and parties of from ten to a hundred rode
up and joined them on the march.

After marching twenty miles, they halted at the foot of a chain of
hills, their numbers having been increased during the day to over
twelve hundred men. The queen and her son found rough accommodation
in a small village, the rest bivouacked round it.

At midnight three hundred cavalry and two hundred footmen started
across the hills, so as to come down upon Bergerac and seize the
bridge across the Dordogne; then at daylight the rest of the force
marched. On reaching the river they found that the bridge had been
seized without resistance. Three hundred gentlemen and their
retainers, of the province of Perigord, had assembled within half a
mile of the other side of the bridge, and had joined the party as
they came down. A Catholic force of two hundred men, in the town,
had been taken by surprise and captured, for the most part in their
beds.

The queen had issued most stringent orders that there was to be no
unnecessary bloodshed; and the Catholic soldiers, having been
stripped of their arms and armour, which were divided among those
of the Huguenots who were ill provided, were allowed to depart
unharmed the next morning, some fifteen gentlemen being retained as
prisoners. Three hundred more Huguenots rode into Bergerac in the
course of the day.

The footmen marched forward in the afternoon, and were directed to
stop at a village, twelve miles on. As the next day's journey would
be a long one, the start was a